Foreword

Stroke is considered the fifth leading cause of death in the United States (US) and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Eighty-seven percent of all strokes are ischemic, 15% are primarily cardio-embolic secondary to atrial fibrillatiomn. In addition, atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia that increases in prevalence with advancing age. There are multiple stroke risk scoring systems that are utilized to stratify stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation that will benefit from anticoagulation.

Source: Current Problems in Cardiology - October 12, 2016 Category: Cardiology Authors: Hector O. Ventura Source Type: research